this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. a huge crackdown on social gatherings in england, as covid cases rise. from monday, there'll be a limit of six people, even if they're meeting up outside. as one of belarus‘ leading opposition activists rips up her passport to avoid being expelled from the country, its president insists he is not stepping down. a senior british politician admits that plans to change the brexit agreement would ‘break international law'. and the trump blockbusters — a seemingly unstoppable run of books about the president. how they're changing the publishing business.

hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. we start with breaking news on coronavirus. from monday, only six people will be allowed to meet socially at any one time in england, either indoors or outside. currently, gatherings of up to 30 are allowed. the new law comes against the background of rising coronavirus cases across the uk, with more than 8,000 registered since sunday. 0ur political correspondent, nick eardley is at westminster. this nick eardley is at westminster. is quite a significar the this is quite a significant move was the government. it is re—imposing restrictions that were lifted back in may. yes, that is right but that

really significant because it will apply to all of england. the last few weeks we have seen targeted local measures being enough by the government but this is a blanket approach seemed to everybody that from monday the maximum group you will be able to meet up in socially indoors or outdoors is sick. it would apply to workplaces and will not apply to schools. that is six people. there are some exceptions for things like weddings and funerals in sports without organised sports which take place but this is clearly because of concern within downing street and amongst the experts who advise ministers about that increasing number of new positive cases we have seen over the last few weeks. i think there is a worry that this disease is transmitting again and that too many people are meeting up in the play frankly don't have enough powers to break up house parties or gatherings in parks or things like that which we re

in parks or things like that which were under 30 or more than they should've been. just on that point, i enough police numbers to impose this now because it is a criminal offence, is in a? absolutely. i don't think we will suddenly see the police manning every park in england for trying to figure out and knocking on every door to see what parties are taking place. but it is supposed to strengthen the message from government. there will be £500 finds on the spot and people will comply with the special orders. that doubles every time you get a new went up to £3200. we will also see the prime minister tomorrow backing downing street at a press conference, giving this message come i conference, giving this message come , clearly the government thinks he needs a stronger message on this. thank you, nicholas that that news broken about half an hour ago. —— thank you, nick, for that news. the number of coronavirus cases across the uk has been rising in recent days. but the number of hospital admissions remains low — and that's a trend replicated

in many countries trying to stave off a new wave of the disease. so, how do the numbers compare to earlier stages in the pandemic? 0ur medical editor fergus walsh has been investigating. so, this is one of the bays of our intensive care unit that was full back in april, may with patients with coronavirus. for weeks now, london's university college hospital has hardly seen any coronavirus patients across its 500 beds. what a difference from when we filmed here at the peak. then, the intensive care unit had to double in size to cope with the influx. now, it's empty of covid patients. but confirmed cases of covid infection have risen four—fold since mid july. as this graph for england shows clearly, it's mostly people in their 20s and 30s who are testing positive.

those figures showing who is getting coronavirus help explain why this and other intensive care units are not filling up with covid patients. the young are generally at low risk from the virus. but there's concern that if it spreads further in the community, things could change here in the coming months. we are always used to any way having more people come to hospital with respiratory virus infections in the winter. the worry is that the sort of people who get infected are the sort of people we saw previously, the older population, the people with other risk factors for doing badly and ending up in hospital. shielding of those with health vulnerabilities may need to be reintroduced if cases spike. it's a difficult balance to safeguard those most at risk while keeping society functioning. we have to protect our children's

education as much as we can, because the impacts of that will last for decades. we've also got to protect and encourage the economy in ways that won't actually unnecessarily increase the death rates. the nhs is open for business, but uch says many patients are still too scared to come to hospital because they fear catching coronavirus. it is one of the many hidden costs of covid. fergus walsh, bbc news. looking ahead to any vaccine. this is just looking ahead to any vaccine. this isjust come looking ahead to any vaccine. this is just come through on the reuters newswi re is just come through on the reuters newswire quoting the website stack news. 0nly newswire quoting the website stack news. only on stat news at the moment but they are reputable on these issues. they are saying that astrazeneca has put a hold on the late stage trial is highly

anticipated covid—i9 vaccine. after anticipated covid—i9 vaccine. after a suspected serious adverse reaction ina a suspected serious adverse reaction in a study participant. that as i say is on the reported on one place, but has been put out by the reuters news agency. they quote it and astrazeneca spokesperson saying a statement the standard review process triggered a pause to vaccination allowed review of safety data. we will keep an eye on that. in other matters. one of the leading opposition figures in belorussia, maria kolesnikova, is reported to have ripped up her passport to prevent officials deporting her into exile. 0pposition colleagues say they saw her tear the document into tiny pieces as she was being escorted across the border into neighbouring ukraine. there've been protests against the belorussian government for the past month, following disputed elections at the begining of august. jonah fisher has more from kyiv: so this all began on monday morning

when maria kolesnikova, the opposition leader, was picked up on the streets of minsk by masked men in an unmarked van. two other opposition figures were also picked up that day. now, what we know now is that they we re now, what we know now is that they were taken to the border where belarus borders ukraine and the authorities are trying to make them ci’oss authorities are trying to make them cross the border, effectively forcing them into exile in ukraine. they were all brought together, these three people, and no man's land, and it was there that maria made it very clear that she did not wa nt to made it very clear that she did not want to cross into ukraine. yvonne ci’oss want to cross into ukraine. yvonne cross office one of the two men who did cross into ukraine. —— ivan. he was a no man's land at the time and i spoke to him here in kyiv about exactly what happened. at that moment, maria was forcefully put in

the car, she literally tore her passport and the pieces. as they we re passport and the pieces. as they were giving her back, her password? exactly. it was lying in the car. she took it immediately and tore it up. then she climbed over the car to the rear windows because the doors we re the rear windows because the doors were blocked and she walked proudly to the russian territory. this was a no man's land ? to the russian territory. this was a no man's land? yes, no man's land. i think it is heroic. it is fantastic what she did. she was very clear with them she didn't want to be forced? absolutely. she tore her passport out. she wanted to see absolutely clear about that. we understand she was taken back into custody by the belarussian authorities and is now being held inside it belarus and icap not that farfrom inside it belarus and icap not that far from the ukrainian inside it belarus and icap not that farfrom the ukrainian border. will this have any impact on the very large demonstrations that we have seenin large demonstrations that we have seen in belarus over the last four and a half weeks since the election? i very much doubt that and the reason for that is because these are

very decentralised protests, they are being coordinated through social messaging apps, to the telegram channel and if anything, i think it is likely that this sort of thing further evidence if you like of the brutality of the violence of the president lukashenko government will only serve to motivate more people to come out onto the streets and more people to call for him to go. let 5 get some of the day's other news. in the state of new york, the chief of the rochester police department and other senior staff have announced their retirement, following criticism of the city's handling of the death of daniel prude. he was the black man restrained by officers using a spit hood, back in march. his family released the footage last week. there have been days of protests since. police in birmingham in the uk have charged a man in connection with a series of knife attacks in the early hours of sunday morning.

zephaniah mcleod, who is 27, will appear in court on wednesday to face one count of murder and seven counts of attempted murder. a teenage boy has been charged with attempted murder and firearms offences after another teenager was shot, as he walked to school in suffolk on monday. the 15—year—old victim sustained serious injuries and is in a critical condition in hospital. borisjohnson's new bill, to change the uk's brexit deal with the eu, will ‘break international law', according to one cabinet minister. the northern ireland secretary brandon lewis admitted the new legislation would go against the treaty ‘in a specific and limited way‘. the former prime minister theresa may has warned the changes could damage trust in the uk, overfuture trade deals. the latest round of trade negotiations between britain and the eu started today, as our chief political correspondent vicki young reports. mrjohnson, are we going

to get a deal today? are you confident? he promised to get brexit done, and the uk has left the eu, but now borisjohnson's team is in a familiar place — trying to negotiate another deal. this time, it's about how we will trade with the eu from january. progress is slow, but round eight of the talks started today. i am confident that our negotiating teams and the eu negotiating teams are all focused on getting a good outcome, both for our friends and partners in the eu, and for us in the united kingdom. but there's another row brewing over the withdrawal agreement. yes, the one which has already been signed, sealed and delivered. it agreed that northern ireland would continue to follow some eu customs rules. that would mean extra paperwork, checks and tariffs for some goods moving between great britain and northern ireland. now the government is introducing its own law, so that uk ministers can decide how to apply the rules without the eu's agreement. the disapproval from this former

prime minister was obvious. the government is now changing the operation of that agreement. given that, how can the government reassure future international partners that the uk can be trusted to abide by the legal obligations of the agreements it signs? another conservative mp got this remarkable admission from the minister. yes, this does break international law in a very specific and limited way. that's not the kind of thing you hear very often in the house of commons. and he's not the only one who is surprised. the labour leader told me that the government should not be acting in this way. at the moment, what the government is doing, which in my view is wrong, is reopening old arguments that have been settled. a deal is there to be had. let's negotiate, get that deal. that's what the public want, and move on. ministers insist the new law they want to introduce simply clarifies what was agreed with the eu last year, it doesn't rip it up completely.

but even the government's top lawyer doesn't see it like that. he's resigned today because he thinks the plans are in breach of the government's obligations under international law. eu and uk officials will continue their talks tomorrow, with the british government accused of going back on old deals while they try to work on a new one. vicki young, bbc news, westminster. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: how the suicides of their young sons spurred two mothers from singapore to campaign for better awareness of mental health issues. the public inquiry into the manchester arena bombing in 2017 has been told that — a0 minutes after the blast — only one paramedic had entered the room to help the injured. 22 people were killed, and hundreds wounded

when a bomb was detonated after an ariana grande concert. greater manchester police did not know that that pop concert was taking place that night. the fire brigade, the first fire engine arrived two hours and six minutes after the explosion and as for the ambulance service, the inquiry heard the first a0 minutes after the explosion, only one paramedic was actually actually at the scene where the bomb went off in 2a minutes after the first request, a british transport police officers are to control, you're going to hate me, but where are our ambulances, please. control replied, we do not know, we are calling them again. this is bbc news, the latest headlines. a huge crackdown on social

gatherings in england, as covid cases rise. from monday, social gatherings of more than six people will be illegal. as one of belarus' leading opposition activists rips up her passport to avoid being expelled from the country, its president insists he is not stepping down a new book by president trump's former lawyer claims he behaves like a mobster and has ‘a low opinion of all black people'. the white house says michael cohen's memoir, out today, is full of lies. whoever you choose to believe, what's undeniable is what a gold mine the trump presidency has been for book publishers. in fact, michael cohen's is one of three books about donald trump out today. i'm joined now byjim milliot — he's the editorial director of trade news magazine publishers weekly. thank you forjoining us. i remember just before he was elected, having quite a wide choice of books about

him to go through as i travelled over to the state. there's been an explosion since. how unusual is this for a serving president? it is highly unusual. especially with the election coming up, and this whole surge began around 2018 when a number of books, the first half of the presidency, they had the letters, because of the sheer volume set upa letters, because of the sheer volume set up a solid, the number of titles that come out. i remember like wolff's fire and fury but, they seem to be the catalyst for the second wave of books about donald trump. did they all do well? not all do well. not all books every to welcome about the batting average is pretty high. we had the fire and fury, we had bob woodward's fear come in next

week woodward is coming out with pa rt week woodward is coming out with part two called rage, i can guarantee you that will be a bestseller. i wouldn't be surprised if it was one of the top selling books of the year. that is coming in this month. and that is because of everybody trying to get in with their publication before the elections? for sure. november three is the big day. there is a rush of books trying to get out i had of that because it is almost certain that because it is almost certain that the narrative will change after november three. it will all be all about who whined, who lives, and ta ke about who whined, who lives, and take it from there. the polls are so tight, it is anybody‘s guess at the moment. interesting also that you would think a lot of these books will be critical like: but not all of them are. —— my michael cole and's book. definitely there is a steady drumbeat of books in support

of either president trump or republican taking the conservative agenda, that sort of thing. while very chump's book and thejohn bolton book have been —— high on the bestseller, but sean hannity, the fox personality, he has a book live free or a document that has been among the best sellers as well. after the election, president trump will want to do one and the rest of the family as well may be. you will be busy. thank you very much for joining us here on the bbc. youth mental health is a growing concern in singapore. the number of young male suicides has risen in recent years. the bbc spoke to doreen and elaine, the mothers of two boys who took their own lives because of stress and mental illness, the youngest was just 11 years old. the ‘please stay movement‘, calling for more assistance for young people struggling with

depression and suicidal thoughts. hey, guys. i will always be thinking what could i have done more to have been i will always be thinking what could i have done more to have prevented this from happening. suicide and mental illness is not talked about openly. i am doreen, i am the mother of evan lowe. i am elaine, mother of zan. evan was 11—year—old when he passed away from suicide. my son took his own life about one month before his 18th birthday. i think what contributed to evan‘s death was actually a combination of many factors. other than his autism, which made it very

difficult in his social life, i think he was also under tremendous stress in school because as a society, singapore is very competitive, and, especially for boys, they feel that coming out to say i‘m depressed and sad is exposing their vulnerability. it isjust in our culture, it doesn‘t seem right for a boy to be weak. they are expected to be strong. they are expected to uphold the family. so there is a lot of stress for a boy to take. for zan, and my family, there is definitely a genetic predisposition. only with zan's passing, i had my cousins who actually shared with me their own struggles. many families are in denial because of the shame. it is embarrassing for them to admit that my child has a mental illness. families think if we acknowledge it, it becomes contagious. it is taboo.

it is a stigma, so they don't recognise it and they don't offer the right help for their children who are struggling. please stay movement is the first real ground advocacy group for mothers who have lived the experience of losing a child to suicide. calling for a national strategy on suicide prevention and mental well— being. we don‘t need think that telling people they are depressed makes them weak. we want them to know it is ok not to be ok. if you‘ve been affected by this story, help and support is available. you could visit befrienders worldwide for more information about support services

in your country, go to www. befrienders.org/directory. or in the uk you can call the samaritans free on 116 123. the composer and theatre impresario, andrew lloyd webber, says the pandemic has caused so much damage to theatre and the wider arts that they‘re now approaching the point of no return. he has called on mps to name a date when productions can get under way again. here‘s our arts editor will gompertz. beverley knight performing at the london palladium injuly. the concert was put on by andrew lloyd webber as a way of persuading the government to allow theatres to fully reopen. but it was all to no avail. the show did not go on. and so, today, he was in front of a select committee of mps once

again making his case for theatres. we just simply have got to get our arts sector back open and running. britain is the leader in world theatre in my view, in many, many ways, and we really, really have got to use this opportunity not only to say we want to get the sector open but to demonstrate to the world how it can be open. a musical like phantom of the opera takes months of preparation before it can be staged, hence the call for more theatre owners asking for the government for a date in the future when it thinks reopening might be possible. that way, they say, plans at least can start to be put in place. andrew lloyd webber isn‘tjust arguing for his own shows in his own theatres, he‘s making a much broader point about theatre in general, and particularly its economic value to city centres. you close les mis, and suddenly the local hotels, the local restaurants, the local book shops, they all close too. he argues that you have theatres that are dark, very quickly, you have city centres that turn

into ghost towns. he‘s also worried about regional theatres, many of which rely on the annual panto to survive. if it can‘t be put on this christmas, they‘re going to need a significant share of the government‘s emergency funding. if we are very careful, we can probably last until christmas, but without this funding, it will be a very, very difficult situation for us and for the artists we work with and the orchestra that we host as their home. it‘s a very sad sight. this is her majesty‘s theatre, where phantom of the opera opened and should be playing now, and it‘s ridiculous that britain, the country where so many people have come to in the 50 plus years that i have been in the theatre, come to see theatre that we are dragging our heels. the live music business has also been hit hard, with the boss of reading festival telling the select committee that mass testing, he thought, was the most likely route to reopening. the government said it was working flat out to support our

world—class performing arts. will gompertz, bbc news. that is it for this edition. plenty more on the website. hello. a fairly mild start to wednesday across most parts of the british isles but some of you will have to wait before we get skies like that, particularly in england and wales where you are close by this weather front, not a lot of rain on it but there will be a fair amount of cloud. that takes the time to pull his way a little bit further towards the south and from the word goal, scotland and northern ireland in the far north of england are far and brighter, wanted to show is coming through on a breeze. elsewhere, in for a pretty dry day. eventually, we break up the cloud in the south in the rain really dies away. humid across the southeast and elsewhere temperatures mid—teens to about 20 degrees. through the

evening, we dragged her less of that cloud away towards the near continent, that time of the year where the nights are longer and the skies are clear. —— we drag the rest of that cloud away. somewhere on the eastern side of scotland will get down to three or 4 degrees. a cool start to thursday, but there is shaping up to be a decent day for many parts of the british isles, suddenly to start with an average of high—pressure nosing in from the atlantic. but no disguising the fact that a little bit further to the north and west, and closing on the northwest of the british isles, eventually there will be enough cloud to rob you your sunshine and northern ireland, may be a passing shower, and more on the way it went weather into the northern parts of scotland. and it temperatures not just as high after that chilly start as they will a bit and the first pa rt as they will a bit and the first part of the week. that weather front gradually worked his way and across another part of the british isles in the first part of friday, and then staggers his way a wee bit further

south, we getting all the while but before he does that, it will deliver a will bit of rain into scotland and northern ireland and eventually it gets a cross northern ireland and eventually it gets across the border. so for south outcome if they dry enough they come atop temperature about 20, 21, things turning more showery and breezy across northwest of scotland to finish out the day. that is the will you start the weekend in the neck of the woods. noticed a number of isobars. quite windy to the north and west and isles and north of scotland. high—pressure trying to dominate many areas but it does not keep the front said pay for the north and west of scotland, hence the forecast but elsewhere a little bit the forecast but elsewhere a little bhdw the forecast but elsewhere a little bit dry and find weather with some sunshine.

this is bbc news, the headlines. there is a a huge crackdown on social gatherings in england, as covid cases rise. from monday, there‘ll be a limit of six people even if they‘re meeting up outside. it‘ll apply to pubs, restaurants and public places. a senior belarusian opposition activist — maria kolessnikova is said to have ripped up her passport on the ukrainian border to avoid being pushed into exile by government officials. she was snatched from a street in minsk on monday. a british government minister has said, the uk‘s plans for legislation to change existing brexit agreements with the eu, would ‘break international law.‘ downing street says, it would only amount to a few ‘minor clarifications.‘ strong winds have fanned wildfires burning out of control across the west coast of the united states. in california, about fourteen thousand firefighters are battling twenty—five blazes,

and emergency services